If the sales tax in your city is $12.2\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$165$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
Solution: In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${12.2\%} \times {\$165} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $12.2\%$ is equivalent to $12.2 \div 100$ $12.2 \div 100 = 0.122$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.122$ $\times$ $$165$ = $$20.13$ You would pay $$20.13$ in sales tax.